‘The Calling’: Jeff Wilbusch Introduces His ‘Very Complex’ NYPD Detective
Fall Preview
When legendary producer David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, The Lincoln Lawyer) calls a series of crime novels “riveting,” it’s a safe bet he’ll be turning them into equally compelling television. Enter The Calling.
Loosely based on The Missing File from Israeli author Dror Mishani, the drama (once titled The Missing) looks at spiritual, introspective, compassionate, uniquely named NYPD detective Avraham Avraham (Jeff Wilbusch, Unorthodox), a special investigator in Brooklyn’s diverse Crown Heights neighborhood.
“Avi is a very complex character,” the Israeli-born Wilbusch says. His calling is solving missing persons and homicide cases through uncanny observational abilities. He’s also devoted to his work family: eager rookie detective Janine Harris (Juliana Canfield, Succession), acerbic veteran cop Earl Malzone (Michael Mosley, Ozark) and supportive boss Capt. Helen Davies (Karen Robinson, Schitt’s Creek).
While Wilbusch says the series retains plenty of Kelley’s signature offbeat humor, the cases reveal Avi as a “haunted soul” who does his work perhaps too passionately. “It’s a difficult task not to lose yourself.”
The Calling, Series Premiere, Thursday, November 10, Peacock
This is an excerpt from TV Guide Magazine’s 2022 Fall Preview issue. For more first looks at fall’s new shows, pick up the issue, on newsstands Thursday, August 25.
